Call of Duty 2013 sales expected to fall short of Black Ops 2

This year's Call of Duty game is expected to fall short of the lofty sales figures of Black Ops 2. While little is known about Call of Duty 10, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told investors today that the game will be shipping Q4 this year.

This year's Call of Duty game is expected to fall short of the lofty sales figures of Black Ops 2. While little is known about Call of Duty 10, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told investors today that the game will be shipping Q4 this year, meaning the franchise has not missed a single year since its debut in 2003.

Hirshberg argues that the lowered expectations for this year's game isn't necessarily from brand fatigue. Instead, the "ongoing console transition" is giving the company reason for a more conservative estimate. It's unknown if this year's Call of Duty game will be available on next-gen consoles--or if next-gen consoles will even be available by year's end.